¶ … television during any evening and one will find a police show. The case is discovered, investigated and wrapped up all within the hour, with time left over for commercials. In real life however, it is not that tidy. In real life investigations can take time and involve certain deceptive measures by investigators to close the case. While deception is considered unethical in many life arenas, it is acceptable when it comes to interrogation.
In a perfect world there would be no crime. In the absence of perfection, the criminals would confess without having to be tricked by investigators. However, the world is far from perfect, criminals are dishonest and it is important to gain confessions so that criminals can be put away and society kept safe.
Virtually all interrogations -- or at least virtually all successful interrogations -- involve some deception. As the United States Supreme Court has placed few limits on the use of deception, the variety of deceptive techniques is limited chiefly by the ingenuity of the interrogator. Interrogators still rely on the classic "Mutt and Jeff," or "good cop, bad cop," routine (Magid, 2001)."
Another form of deception involves the use of imaginary witnesses that the suspect is told already explained the entire story to police. This is done in the hopes that the suspect will believe he or she is already caught so they tell the truth and confess.
It is acceptable to use such deceptions in interrogations because of the person being interrogated didn't commit the crime they will not know many of the details.
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